Is Lucas Duda faster than we think?

"He's not your typical outfielder. I don't want him to think he has to try to make the (highlight) play. Just let the game come to him and let him understand it's going to take reps so that he feels comfortable. His defensive ability, it is what it is. He runs well enough, he has plenty of arm, there is not a question about that. It's about trying to understand it's going to take reps for him to be completely comfortable. Just don't panic."

Adam Rubin quotes Mookie Wilson speaking about Lucas Duda.

9 months ago Russ 35 comments 0 recs |

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Depends, how fast do we think he is?

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by Bobby Baseball on Sep 5, 2011 10:42 AM EDT reply actions

Many people think that Duda is completely immobile

Bigger guys look slower than they are, when compared to small guys of a similar speed, and Duda is really big. That said, I have no idea how fast he is. The metrics needed to asses speed are very simple, but usually not available to the public. Baseball usually uses a 60yd dash, and batters box to first base. We can get these stats online for recent high school prospects. Lucas Duda’s profile on Perfect Game’s web site, for example, is not recent, so we have no such stats.

My guess is that he huns a 60 somewhere between 7.0 and 7.5, but that’s just a guess.

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by Russ on Sep 5, 2011 12:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Not that this has anything to do with this

I just love how we all picture Duda as the gigantic guy with a ton of power, meanwhile he’d be one of the smallest guys on a basketball court and on a football field.

by Evan_S on Sep 5, 2011 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions

ehh

6 foot 4 and 250 pounds is big no matter how you slice it… A big Small Forward or a big Middle Linebacker or a short Power Forward or skinny Offensive Tackle.

by METSMETSMETS on Sep 5, 2011 11:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, my bad

I thought I read his weight at 225. But still, no Power Forward is 6-4 any more and almost all linemen, offensive and defensive are ~280ish. He’s a linebacker, small forward type.

by Evan_S on Sep 6, 2011 12:28 AM EDT up reply actions

I think he meant a power forward in hockey.

Though 250 is pretty damn heavy for a hockey player.

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by Ogre39666 on Sep 6, 2011 1:53 AM EDT up reply actions

AHEM

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by CTRefJay on Sep 6, 2011 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions

Okay so you have Byfuglien at 286 and then Chara at 260.

That’s two guys out of how many? And one is 6ft 9in.
250lbs. is still pretty heavy for a hockey player.

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by Ogre39666 on Sep 6, 2011 1:22 PM EDT up reply actions

Byfuglien weighs 286?

Holy shit, I had no idea he was that big.

"And that's why anybody who invested with Lenny Dykstra should really call that number. Lawyers are standing by."

by BobbyV_Incognito on Sep 6, 2011 6:21 PM EDT up reply actions

That's what Wikipedia had him as.

Yahoo! has him listed at 257. The Jets site and Hockey-Reference has him at 265.

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by Ogre39666 on Sep 6, 2011 7:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Still pretty bulky.

"And that's why anybody who invested with Lenny Dykstra should really call that number. Lawyers are standing by."

by BobbyV_Incognito on Sep 6, 2011 11:18 PM EDT up reply actions

No way that's an o-lineman.

Maybe a defensive end, a speed-rushing type. But that’s pretty short and skinny for a lineman, regardless of side.

"And that's why anybody who invested with Lenny Dykstra should really call that number. Lawyers are standing by."

by BobbyV_Incognito on Sep 6, 2011 1:24 AM EDT up reply actions

I think home to first and home to home is the best way to measure a players speed for baseball

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by Bobby Baseball on Sep 5, 2011 3:35 PM EDT up reply actions

He did hit 3 triples and his speed score is like Wrongz', but that doesn't mean he'll have a great range in the outfield.

Part of the problem is that he is still not seeing the balls trajectory off the bat. “He runs well enough” can have a broad meaning, we shouldn’t be reading too much into that.

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by Michkin on Sep 5, 2011 10:56 AM EDT reply actions

attn jason bay

by clip on Sep 5, 2011 11:09 AM EDT up reply actions

I don't think that there is any question that Duda's curent ability to read balls and run routes sucks

So I’m pretty sure that Mookie wasn’t referring to those things. It seems reasonable to me that Mookie is referring to Duda’s raw speed.

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by Russ on Sep 5, 2011 12:43 PM EDT up reply actions

Mookie was talking about his defense in the outfield, and I added that speed is not the only thing that counts in OF range.

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by Michkin on Sep 5, 2011 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions

While big guys look slower, because of their longer legs that cover more ground then their shorter counterparts.

He’s probably not fast, but he’s probably not immobile either.

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by Ogre39666 on Sep 5, 2011 2:00 PM EDT reply actions

I recall someone saying of Adam Dunn's outfield speed...

That a freight train can go pretty fast, but it’s not exactly well-suited to try to catch up to a butterfly. Same applies to Duda, I think.

by djletz on Sep 5, 2011 3:11 PM EDT reply actions

Dunn stole a few bases one season a decade ago

Kicking knowledge in the face.

by BlackOps on Sep 5, 2011 6:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Stole 19 in 2002 and had more than 5 SB's 5 times.

He also put up some positive baserunning runs early in his career.

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Keep Reyes, Trade Wilpon.

by Ogre39666 on Sep 5, 2011 7:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Duda's lumberness runs into big problems when he tries to stop.

by Putnan Prince on Sep 5, 2011 3:36 PM EDT reply actions

He's not Adam Dunn slow, but our best hope is that he becomes

a slightly bad fielder rather than Burrell type bad.

by FrancoTAU on Sep 5, 2011 9:51 PM EDT reply actions

Jerry Girard

Ch. 11 sports anchor of years ago, once gave this description of Jerry Narron:

“he runs well, except for his feet.”

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by StorkFan on Sep 5, 2011 11:44 PM EDT reply actions

I don't understand

why we don’t move Ike Davis out there. He played some OF in college was well as pitcher… He probably has more of a shot at playing a good OF than Duda and Duda’s no butcher at first

by METSMETSMETS on Sep 5, 2011 11:47 PM EDT reply actions

I guess the argument is that you'd be putting a gold glove first basemen in the OF

but the tradeoff might be worth it if Duda could play a mediocre 1B and Ike could play a mediocre RF. Ike seems pretty slow so I’m not sure that’s a given.

by FrancoTAU on Sep 6, 2011 12:08 AM EDT up reply actions

I think that's it.

It’s worth remembering that Citi Field doesn’t have a normal RF. There’s a lot more room to cover. Big, lumbering types like Davis and Duda would be better off in LF.

"And that's why anybody who invested with Lenny Dykstra should really call that number. Lawyers are standing by."

by BobbyV_Incognito on Sep 6, 2011 1:26 AM EDT up reply actions

Personally I don't think Duda's all that bad in RF.

No, he’s not Carlos Beltran out there but he’ll get to everything he should get to and he’s got a strong arm (remember he was also recruited as a pitcher out of HS). Considering that Mo’s Zone freak show out in RF, I’d probably feel more comfortable with him manning the less spacious LF and having someone who can cover some ground (eventually Nieuwenhuis, perhaps) out in RF.

I also think that it’s more important to have the better defensive player (Davis) at 1st base because with Davis in RF and Duda at 1st, you’re really making the entire defense worse. I’d take one gold glover and one mediocre fielder over two mediocre fielders, not to mention first base is pretty important considering David’s problems with throws. Duda’s decent over there but Davis is probably the best 1st baseman defensively this organization’s seen since John Olerud.

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by Steve Schreiber on Sep 6, 2011 10:55 AM EDT up reply actions

Doug Mientkiewicz

by EtSuKe on Sep 6, 2011 9:55 PM EDT up reply actions

Meh.

I personally wasn’t all that impressed with his defense.

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by Steve Schreiber on Sep 7, 2011 1:39 AM EDT up reply actions

Ike is an elite defender at 1B

Neither will be so in the OF. Duda can eventually learn to be an average defender in the OF. No matter how much Lucas improves at 1B, Ike will always have the advantage of being a lefty.

I think that the eventual solution will be Duda at LF. Hopefully that will happen late next year after Bay is traded and/or released.

__________________________________________________
"He who gets the best players usually wins" - Bobby Bowden

by Russ on Sep 6, 2011 8:49 AM EDT up reply actions

Let's hope it happens Opening Day 2012

after Sandy manages to wriggle free of Bay’s contract by dumping him on some unsuspecting team. If that happens, Mets fans all over the world will be partying nonstop for days on end.

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by Steve Schreiber on Sep 6, 2011 10:57 AM EDT up reply actions